Benito Bersa : Tragic Symphony Op.25 (Listen to complete work on YouTube)

[eternalorphea]

Listen on YouTube
Benito Bersa : Tragic Symphony Op.25 "Four Memories of My Life"



Benito Bersa*¹ (1873-1934)

Sinfonia tragica "Quattro ricordi della mia vita" (Tragic symphony - Four memories of my life) in C-minor, Op.25

I. Ouverture drammatica (Dramatic Overture), Op. 25a
II. Idillio "Il giorno delle mie nozze" (The Day of my Wedding), Op. 25b
III. Capriccio-Scherzo, Op. 25c
IV. Finale "Vita nuova" (New Life), Op. 25d (unfinished*², piano sketch)

*² later orchestrated, along with other unfinished works, by Bersa's student Zvonimir Bradić following Bersa's oral instructions and Bersa's handbook "The Principles of Modern Instrumentation" (which Bradić had completed as well)
*¹ Benito Bersa (known as Blagoje Bersa), son of Filomena de Medici and Giovanni Rifembergo-Bersa de Leidenthal

[eternalorphea]

I do love - and above all respect - this work as a whole, but the most >impressive< (not lovely and sentimental, melodious, lyrical, heart-tendering, melancholic, et sim.) part for me is the fugue that starts at time 00:42:41

[Mark Thomas]

I have enjoyed listening to this lushly romantic, rather operatic score. Thank you. Who are the performers on the recording, please?

[eternalorphea]

Thank you admin. Thomas 
Yes, rather operatic indeed; same goes for the non-vocal genre scores of other Croatian composers with Italian background too.

The orchestra in all four moves's Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra. The conductor in I-III Mladen Tarbuk, whereas in IV Oscar Danon.

[Mark Thomas]

Ah, that explains the clear difference in the ambiance of the recording, too. Thanks.

[Alan Howe]

Does anyone know when this work was written, please?

[eternalorphea]

I don't find the info source reliable, but
I. move 1898
II. 1902
III. 1902
IV. early 1920's perhaps? While he still nourished false hope that it's gonna be "Vita nuova - New Life" in the future, before the major disappointments..

[Alan Howe]

It's very emotional music, isn't it? Rather as if Mascagni had written a symphony. Immensely enjoyable...

[Alan Howe]

...until you get to the finale where the work rather runs out of steam. However, three good movements out of four isn't bad...

[eternalorphea]

It'll sound like I just want to oppose you, but I really like the IVth move. What exactly in it is that I like: the force, brightness, Mediterranean Italo-Dalmatian light-music melodic modes (which I perhaps 'get' better as it's my native melodics), the conductor's approach. I don't care if it's lacking profound emotionality of the first three moves, as Bersa was 'describing' in tones the 'new life' which never came true while living in poverty and being frustrated, grouchy, embittered.. Well, also it's not like there's no lyricism in it as well, but not in a way one gets used to and would expect after having listened to the moves I-III, and I didn't notice a senseless significant repetition of thematic material either. How should I explain it to you, long story short, .. ah, yes - I felt entertained while listening. I didn't find the first move not close that effective as the final. And word effective doesn't imply touch of emotion. Can there be something sophisticated but emotionless, and that I still like very much? Yes, if I find it amusing, if it draws my attention with monumental moving 'blocks of sound', fast passages, boom-bang big time, shiny brass sound sparkling and shimmering and then all of a sudden sudden change that I don't expect to a mystical elegiac melody which trough an interesting development transforms back to the first 'theme'. For the finale I left this: I would really get bored if the fourth movement was yet another sensual semi-introvert melancholic piece. There had to be something to wake up the audience before the finish, and I find a 20 min. clarion just about it!

[Alan Howe]

Well, it's good to hear an opposing view, but my ears tell me that all that such an episodic finale - all stop and start (and huff and puff) - just doesn't work, especially in comparison with the convincing opening movement. It's a frequent problem among unsung symphonies, I'm afraid. Enjoyable music, but a disappointment after movements 1 to 3.

[Mark Thomas]

I listened to the Symphony again yesterday and, unhelpfully, I now echo both Alan's and Eternalorphea's views! Initially, my take on it was a carbon copy of Alan's, but after yesterday's session I do appreciate the finale much more - although with one major caveat. At 20 minutes, it is way, way too long in a Symphony lasting 48 minutes. It completely destroys the balance of the whole work and would be so much more effective, and could say everything Bersa wanted to say I suspect, in half the time. I really don't mind that it is episodic, I don't mind the "blocks of sound", but within each distinct section of the work in most cases there is a lot of repetition, which may not be "senseless", but which really adds nothing to the musical argument.

Now, I know nothing about Bersa, and even less about his way of working, but I do have the evidence of the first three movements, which are not over long, are well argued and hold the attention. He clearly knew his craft, and yet the finale is out of place, and it's telling that this is the movement which was completed by a student, basing it on Bersa's sketch. I don't know how complete the sketch was, but I wonder if Bersa composed by roughly sketching out his ideas and then edited them down to get the finished product? If the student was too respectful of the sketch, wasn't prepared to cut out material which Bersa would have eventually discarded, then this might be the result. Just an idea. What do you think, Eternalorphea, you're the Bersa expert?

[eternalorphea]

The big question is why didn't Bersa finish the Finale, and a couple of his other works, but left that to his student before he died? Did Bersa abandon them, and later perhaps his student insisted on them being underrated by the composer himself and expressed the will to complete them? It is important to point out the significant number of years between Bersa stopped working on some of the works and his death, that is it was not death which interrupted the creative process.
I -in my own view- claim that his disciple done a wonderful job. Besides, he was not a student anymore when he worked on these projects. And yes, Bersa did finish the sketch on the piano (not sketch for the piano), at least that's what I've read.

Zvonimir Bradić (Zagreb, 05.07.1904. – Zagreb, 30.12.1997), multiinstrumentalist, arranger and leader of popular music orchestras.
1926-1940 worked as choirmaster and conductor of popular music orchestras;
1941-1951 played timpani in an opera orchestra;
1950-1964 music editor on the Radio Zagreb.
He composed popular vocal-instrumental, light orchestral and serious music with folk elements, and did adaptation, arrangement and revisions of popular and serious music. He compiled, according to Blagoje(Benito) Bersa's sketches, his handbook "The Principles of Modern Instrumentation". He was amongst first Croatian jazzists/jazzman and founded in 1923 the dixieland ensemble "Bongo Boys", the first band of this music genre in Zagreb, later reshaped into "New Dance".

[eternalorphea]

I'm impressed about how long the last movement lasts. Am I being a snob?

If the student was too respectful of the sketch, wasn't prepared to cut out material which Bersa would have eventually discarded, then this might be the result. Just an idea.

You mean: "(...), then this might be a problem."?

Yes he was very respectful not of the sketch but of his professor, and it is highly likely he wasn't willing to sacrifice any part of it not even for the benefit of it.

[Alan Howe]

No, he means "then": "than" wouldn't make any sense.

The finale is simply too long, in my opinion too. Sorry!